Eaten Alive on Col de la Trappe

The Col de la Trappe is a climb of category 2 (medium) difficulty in the Ariège Pyrénées.  From east side, the climb is 5 km averaging a pretty consistent 7%. From the west, the climb is 17 km, but the serious climbing is only for the last 6 km (about 7-8%). Yesterday, rode up the east side from Aulus-les-Bains after making the long climb from Massat up the Col d'Agnès. The Col de Latrape was one of the most painful climbs that I can remember in recent times. The cause of my suffering—the dreaded Pyrénéan horse fly.

Every July, the horse fly makes its appearance for about two weeks in July. Although horse flies live for 1–2 years, the adult version only lives for a day or two. Adult horse flies feed on nectar and sometimes pollen, but females require a blood meal before they are able to reproduce effectively.  Much like male mosquitoes, male horse flies lack the mandibles that the females use in drawing the blood on which they feed. And the mandibles of the female horse fly are formidable.  Unlike a mosquito or a fire ant, they can bite though clothing. And it hurts!

When a horse fly lands on you, they do not immediately sink their teeth into your flesh. You have about a tenth of a second to swat the miserable little beast. It's not too hard because they are relatively slow.  Horse flies are also very persistent. They will follow you for kilometers just to get a meal. And if you swat one fly, one hundred will come to the funeral. Picture me riding uphill occasionally slapping various parts of my body.  I almost fell one time because I was climbing out of the saddle and trying to swat a horse fly on my backside at the same time.  The only defense is to ride faster than the horse fly can fly—about 10 km per hour. My maximum speed on the uphill must have been only 9.9 km per hour.

Horse flies draw blood when they bite.  It's best to avoid scratching the bites, and I am really glad that I brought a tube of hydrocortisone cream with me.

Other than climbing up the Col de Latrape, it was an enjoyable ride yesterday.  Two long climbs and a nice break for lunch in Seix before heading back up the valley to Les Deux Velos.